Deciphering JEA's Search: What's Best For Downtown?

[thelakelander]

Time will tell if the general public sentiment is right. For Jacksonville's sake, I hope everyone is wrong.

After the meeting, Howard said he's grown frustrated with a narrative suggesting the board already has chosen the Lot J site and that the bid process is just a formality.

"I think it disrespects this board and the staff at JEA and the consultants that have taken this very seriously," said Howard.

"It's been a very deliberate process," he said.

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/jea-board-hears-pitches-for-three-headquarters-sites

[Charles Hunter]

Is there a selection matrix, where each proposal are given points against pre-determined standards?  That will be interesting to see - but, sadly, not until after the fact.

[Joseph]

The Courthouse site is the site that Ryan will build on if they win, apparently. On Adams.

Totally cool with that. Like I said, I'd slightly prefer the Church street one, but this would be great too.

When JEA announced the shortlist in January, I believe Ryan was only shortlisted for the Adams site.  It was hard to hear but I am pretty sure that is whey they only presented on Adams yesterday.

[Jagsdrew]

^I could see the special event parking and associated detours driving employees and customers crazy. JEA's use isn't one that's compatible with an entertainment district.

What if you had to pay in person your electric bill at JEA if they were at the Lot J location and had to pay a fine at the courthouse but you didn't have a means of transportation, only public transportation.  How long would that take you? It's a good amount of time, especially during the week/work hours. Not many frequent public transportation options out there. 

With the Adams St. and Kings Ave. location, there is access to public transportation both with the skyway and bus but more specifically the First Coast Flyer with stops every 15 mins or so. Both options take you to the Rosa Parks Station to get you where you need to go throughout Jax.

[CityLife]

I'm kind of shocked after all the visionary talk and renderings over the last five years, the JEA proposal ended being a cheap suburban box at Lot J. That doesn't match the dream that's been sold. It was a tower last year:

Will the same happen with the other placeholder building sites?

That's some big time value engineering.

Like I said in the other thread, IF Lot J is selected, the JEA board should mandate that Khan/Cordish complete certain aspects of his Lot J or Shipyards conceptual plans within a certain time period after construction of JEA HQ.

There are numerous forms of recourse for JEA if Khan/Cordish do not deliver on the rest of the development. I believe that Khan/Cordish can take out a surety bond for the value of proposed construction that would then be owed to JEA or the City if they fail to deliver. Or they could put a set amount of cash in an escrow that would be paid to JEA if they fail to deliver. Or heck, make them have to give the building to JEA for free (or at a heavy discount) if they don't deliver.

If Lot J is selected, it is almost solely due to being part of a master development by Khan/Cordish. If JEA goes with Lot J with no legal and financial assurances of construction of the rest of the master development, it will be THE WORST decision of all time in Jacksonville, a City known for making bad decisions.

[thelakelander]

The Courthouse site is the site that Ryan will build on if they win, apparently. On Adams.

Totally cool with that. Like I said, I'd slightly prefer the Church street one, but this would be great too.

When JEA announced the shortlist in January, I believe Ryan was only shortlisted for the Adams site.  It was hard to hear but I am pretty sure that is whey they only presented on Adams yesterday.

Yes, the Adams Street site is what they presented yesterday.

[Kerry]

Time will tell if the general public sentiment is right. For Jacksonville's sake, I hope everyone is wrong.

After the meeting, Howard said he's grown frustrated with a narrative suggesting the board already has chosen the Lot J site and that the bid process is just a formality.

"I think it disrespects this board and the staff at JEA and the consultants that have taken this very seriously," said Howard.

"It's been a very deliberate process," he said.

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/jea-board-hears-pitches-for-three-headquarters-sites

If the fix wasn't in Lot J would have already been discarded as an option.  There is no other reason for JEA to chose that location.

[Westside Guy]

Time will tell if the general public sentiment is right. For Jacksonville's sake, I hope everyone is wrong.

After the meeting, Howard said he's grown frustrated with a narrative suggesting the board already has chosen the Lot J site and that the bid process is just a formality.

"I think it disrespects this board and the staff at JEA and the consultants that have taken this very seriously," said Howard.

"It's been a very deliberate process," he said.

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/jea-board-hears-pitches-for-three-headquarters-sites

This is the same language they used right before they voted unanimously to pick Aaron Zahn as CEO.

[KenFSU]

^I could see the special event parking and associated detours driving employees and customers crazy. JEA's use isn't one that's compatible with an entertainment district.

What if you had to pay in person your electric bill at JEA if they were at the Lot J location and had to pay a fine at the courthouse but you didn't have a means of transportation, only public transportation.  How long would that take you? It's a good amount of time, especially during the week/work hours. Not many frequent public transportation options out there. 

With the Adams St. and Kings Ave. location, there is access to public transportation both with the skyway and bus but more specifically the First Coast Flyer with stops every 15 mins or so. Both options take you to the Rosa Parks Station to get you where you need to go throughout Jax.

One of the things that sticks out to me the most about this story is the fact that 11,000 customers are paying their JEA bills in person each month, with the majority coming from three low-income zip codes specifically. Rather than strictly finding a new place for these people to continue to pay their bills in person, JEA needs to be working to identify why these people are paying in person, and finding innovative ways to help alleviate some of that burden. If they can't afford the $2-$5 monthly convenience fee, JEA should waive it (really, it shouldn't exist in the first place in 2019). If they're unbanked prepay customers paying with cash or money order, JEA should find a way to pick up.

When we make these decisions about things like public transportation and where to locate public utilities, I think too often we think about how flashy they will look on a marketing brochure and how they will appeal to the casual suburbanite end-user while failing to properly take into account the socioeconomic impact these decisions will have on the people who depend on them for survival. When we talk about cashless robovans and a Lot J JEA headquarters, I don't think we realize how screwed the low-income community is by the existing system. These people are barely scraping by, and they're being screwed either way, rather it's through monthly bank fees and an exploitative overdraft system, or by check-cashing/payday advance fees plus service fees on prepaid services and debit cards.

JTA & JEA are about so much more than just flashy renders, which makes Lamping's comments about JEA in-person billpayers being about to take the clowncars to Lot J and enjoy the Live! amenities particularly tone deaf.

[thelakelander]

^Great post! It's pretty clear that we don't think much about social equity, economic mobility and environmental justice in many of the decisions we make.

[Kerry]

^Great post! It's pretty clear that we don't think much about social equity, economic mobility and environmental justice in many of the decisions we make.

What is kind of strange, the Jags have been pretty clear that without Lot J their future in Jax is questionable.  When the Sonics moved from Seattle to Oklahoma City the community leaders in Seattle said it would be poor minorities that got hurt the most because of all the charities, free events, and public appearances the Sonics provided to that segment of society.

It is quite a Catch 22 for Jacksonville in that regard.

[Jagsdrew]

JTA & JEA are about so much more than just flashy renders, which makes Lamping's comments about JEA in-person billpayers being about to take the clowncars to Lot J and enjoy the Live! amenities particularly tone deaf.

Outstanding post, you definitely nailed it.  The Jags are using all the gov't entities as a bargaining chip so that they can get behind the lot J proposal so that not only the Jaguars dreams come true with an anchor tenant but also all of JTA's, COJ's, etc. proposed projects come true as well.

[thelakelander]

^Great post! It's pretty clear that we don't think much about social equity, economic mobility and environmental justice in many of the decisions we make.

What is kind of strange, the Jags have been pretty clear that without Lot J their future in Jax is questionable.  When the Sonics moved from Seattle to Oklahoma City the community leaders in Seattle said it would be poor minorities that got hurt the most because of all the charities, free events, and public appearances the Sonics provided to that segment of society.

It is quite a Catch 22 for Jacksonville in that regard.

These things don't always trickle down like their promoted to do. However, getting your lights cut off because you can't easily access the office to pay your bill in person is direct and immediate.

[Kerry]

I agree but don't be surprised when the Jags float that ballon. They are already laying the groundwork for it.

[Steve]

I agree but don't be surprised when the Jags float that ballon. They are already laying the groundwork for it.

JEA not moving to Lot J doesn't kill their plans. Nothing's stopping them from developing the thing.